Memories
by hudson304
Summary: Spoilers for Lost Son. Calleigh and Speed pairing. Calleigh has memories of the time she spent with Speed. CHAPTER 12 FINALLY UP!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

Summary: Spoilers for 'Lost Son'. Calleigh has memories of the time she spent with Speed

Pairing: Calleigh and Speed

----

Why did this have to happen she thought, as she stood in the darkness, crying. Why? She wondered how this could happen to someone so good, so sweet; to the one man she loved.

They had finally confessed their true feelings for each other and then this…this…well; she couldn't manage to say the words. It was as if a piece of her had died along with him.

She couldn't take this anymore. She had to get out of here. She had to get away from all of these memories. She grabbed her purse and headed for the door. She didn't know where she was going to go. She most certainly couldn't go to work. That brought back to many memories as well. Just then the doorbell rang. Perfect timing. A distraction, or so she thought.

----

Eric Delko had promised Calleigh a long time ago that he would leave her alone when she was upset. After all, they had been close once. But Speed was his friend too and he couldn't let her suffer alone.

He had played that day over and over in his mind. Maybe it would help. Maybe it would help him cope with what had happened to his best friend. That was wishful thinking. He knew that would never happen. It would just make him angrier.

As he walked up the front porch and rang the doorbell, he stood waiting in the uncomfortable silence, all the while thinking about Calleigh. Is she all right? What if she had done something that she would regret later? It wasn't long before the door opened.

Calleigh was a mess, to say the least. Her eyes were blood red from crying, her hair was knotty and unkempt, and she was wearing the same clothes she had been wearing for the past two days. This is not the Calleigh we know and love. 'Give her a break man, she just lost her boyfriend,' Eric said to himself.

----

Calleigh Duquesne wanted anyone at the door…anyone but Eric. She knew that he would try to make her feel better, but that was the last thing she wanted. She just wanted to be left alone. When she opened the door, Eric was standing there. "Calleigh, are you okay? I've been worried about you," Eric said.

"I'm fine, but I was on my way out, so you'll have to excuse me," Calleigh said as she pushed Eric out of the way.

"Okay, but if you need anything, just call," Eric shouted after her.

Maybe Eric's visit did help. She knew where she was going to go. She was going to the cemetery to be with him…her beloved Speed.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

Summary: Spoilers for 'Lost Son'. Calleigh has memories of the time she spent with Speed.

Pairings: Calleigh and Speed.

----

As she stepped out of her car, chills swept down her spine, despite the warm fall day. She weaved her way through the tombstones and finally she was at Speed's. "Speed," she said as she sat on the damp ground, "I miss you so much. I wish you were here with me right now." All of a sudden, there was a big gust of wind and Calleigh closed her eyes to take in the freshness.

"_Calleigh, open the door," Tim Speedle shouted as he banged on the door to Calleigh's apartment. The door remained shut. Speed had gotten a call from Calleigh about twenty minutes ago. Something about her voice had seemed…off and he had rushed right over. _

"_I'll be right there," Calleigh said in her sultry southern accent. She grabbed her cherry lip gloss and applied it as she quickly headed for the door. _

_This wasn't like Calleigh. If something was wrong, she would have opened the door right away. Lately though, Calleigh had seemed a little weird. Come to think of it, Calleigh was always a little weird, but in that good Calleigh kinda way. The weirdness he had fallen in love with was gone and now, it was a different kind of weird. Just then Calleigh opened the door. Calleigh looked amazing. She was wearing the dress that he had given to her for Christmas. It was light purple and strapless. She was also wearing the diamond earrings and bracelet he had given her for her birthday. She looked just astounding. He let the thought of how beautiful she was slip from his mind…just for a minute though. He had to know what was wrong. "Calleigh," he said as he took her hand, "what's wrong? I…" But the words were lost in his mouth as he looked around. He didn't even recognize Calleigh's apartment. The whole apartment was covered in white roses. The most beautiful white roses he had ever seen. That wasn't all…not by a long shot. The lights were dimmed throughout the whole apartment; there was a small table with candles, yet more flowers and probably the most expensive wine he would ever drink set up on Calleigh's veranda looking out over the Miami surf. The lights were also dimmed. It was the most romantic setting. "What's all this?" he asked as Calleigh led him over to the table. _

"_Can't I show my boyfriend how much I love him?" _

"_Sure, but if I had known what you were planning, I would have dressed in something nicer." _

"_You look fine," Calleigh said._

_By this time, dinner was forgotten. Speed took Calleigh in his arms and placed a tender kiss on her lips. After they broke apart, Speed licked his lips and said, "Mm…cherry. Do you think I could have another taste?" Speed leaned in for another kiss, but Calleigh quickly pushed him away. _

"_I ain't kissin' those slobbered covered lips." _

_Unable to suppress it any longer, Speed burst out laughing. Calleigh soon followed suit._

The laughter was still fresh in her mind as she opened her eyes. A fresh coat of tears covered her cheeks. That was one of the happiest days of her life.

As she got up to leave, she saw him. She saw Speed standing not two feet away. "Speed," Calleigh whispered through the tears, "You've come back to me." He stepped closer until he was right in front of her. He smiled with that irresistible smile. The smile that would melt her heart. He was just about to touch her face when another gust of wind blew his image away. "No," she shouted as she fell to her knees, crying. No matter how hard she cried, no matter how hard she prayed, she would never feel the warmth of his arms around her ever again.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

Summary: Spoilers for 'Lost Son'. Calleigh has memories of the time she spent with Speed.

Pairings: Calleigh and Speed

----

Horatio Caine stepped out of his car at McCauley Jewelers where, less than a month ago, one of his CSIs was gunned down.

Tim Speedle was one of his best CSIs. He was honest, trustworthy, and he was good at what he did. The worst part about his death was, he had been dating his ballistics expert, Calleigh Duquesne. No on had really known that they were dating, except Eric of course. Speed had told him everything. Although Horatio didn't know they had been seeing each other, he did have his suspicions. It was the little things like the way they looked at each other or the way they talked to each other.

Now that Speed was gone, Calleigh was a wreck. She was constantly crying, but who could blame her. They all loved Speed, but Calleigh loved him the most.

He could honestly say that he knew what Calleigh was going through and it was hell. He had never lost a girlfriend or a wife, but he had lost his brother. Horatio and Raymond had never been all that close, but Raymond was his brother and he had loved him. His heart reached out to Calleigh.

Looking at the jewelry store, made him remember the last words that Speed had said while he wasn't fighting for his life.

_As Speed stepped out of the driver side door in front of McCauley Jewelers, he spotted a red convertible parked right in front of him. "Nice rolls. Probably the owners. These cars are such a bad investment. I'm just happy I have my bike," he said to Horatio, who was just stepping out of the passenger side door._

"_One day," Horatio replied, "you may need something with doors."_

"_Well, I've got plenty of time for that."_

Speed was one of his best CSIs and here he was, Lieutenant Horatio Caine, thinking of a day that he wished never happened. This wouldn't bring Speed justice. Thinking about him and wishing that he was back among his team wasn't helping.

Just then he saw him, or he thought he saw him. Speed was leaning up against a car with his arms crossed. Was it a figment of his imagination or was it real, he didn't know and he wasn't about to know either. Just as suddenly as he had appeared, Speed was gone.

As Horatio stepped into the air conditioned McCauley Jewelers, he noticed that it was exactly like it had been on that fateful day a month ago. However, the crime scene tape had been removed. "I'm Lieutenant Horatio Caine and I'm with the crime lab. I'd like to speak with the manager," Horatio said to the desk clerk.

The desk clerk was a very pretty woman of about twenty-four. She had shoulder length reddish brown hair and her eyes were an ice blue. She was wearing a black mini skirt with a black leather jacket and black leather boots that went up to her knees. "Just a minute Lieutenant Caine. I'll have to page him," she said with a very strong southern accent.

"Thank you." While she was paging her boss, Horatio took this opportunity to take a better look around. Maybe there was some evidence that his team missed, but his team was top notch, so he thought it very unlikely.

"Lieutenant Caine," the girl said interrupting his search, "Mr. Anderson will be right with you. However, it will have to be quick. He has a meeting with a client in a few minutes."

"Thank you, once again."

"Mr. Caine," a deep voice said from behind him.

He turned around and standing in front of him was a Spanish man of about 6 feet. "Mr. Anderson," Horatio said, "I'm investigating the murder of one of my CSIs."

"I'm very sorry to hear that Lieutenant."

However, he didn't seem very sympathetic. He seemed more scared than anything. Horatio could think of no specific reason why he might be acting this way. Unless…he had something to do with Speed's murder. It was doubtful, but it was his job to find out the truth. "Mr. Anderson, how long have you worked here?" Horatio asked.

"About a month…no, no wait. About three weeks," the manager said, quickly correcting his 'mistake.'

"Did you know the previous owner?"

"No," Anderson said quickly.

"Are you sure because we arrested him for his involvement in the murder of my CSI and if I find out that you knew him or were involved in anyway, I'll charge you with accessory after the fact."

"Lieutenant, are you implying that I had anything to do with that? Listen, if you're going to go around throwing accusations, then we're through here. Goodbye Lieutenant."

Horatio Caine left the jewelry store with no argument. This man was obviously very angry and he needed to cool down. Then Horatio would come back and find out what happened on September 26, 2004.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: i don't own anything

Summary: Spoilers for 'Lost Son'. Calleigh has memories of the time she spent with Speed.

Pairings: Calleigh and Speed

----

At the same time Horatio was leaving the jewelry store, Eric and Calleigh were arriving at a crime scene. Calleigh had decided to come into work to get her mind off of Speed. She wanted to get her mind focused on guns and bringing justice to those families who had been torn apart just as she had been.

Calleigh said that she wanted to move on with her life, but Eric thought that coming back to work would just remind her of Speed even more, as it did him and the rest of the team, but hey, it was her decision. "What have you got Alexx?" Eric asked Alexx Woods, the medical examiner.

"A gun shot wound to the left chest area, but I'll know more after the post."

"Okay. Have you identified the victim yet?"

Alexx rummaged through the victim's coat pocket, looking for anything that might give them a clue as to who he was. Just then, in the right breast pocket, her hand landed on a brown leather wallet. She pulled it out and opened it. "His name is Dante Walker and he's only twenty-two years old. Poor baby. There's also a business card here for a Jackson Enterprises," Alexx said, handing the wallet to Eric, who bagged it as evidence.

"Okay. Thanks Alexx. Keep us posted."

"Always." And with that, two body haulers walked up to the body and loaded it into the van. Then Alexx and the two men, along with the body, drove off.

While Eric and Alexx had been standing over the victim, Calleigh had been thinking. Maybe she had come back to work too soon. Work did remind her a lot of Speed.

Calleigh just stood, thinking of how things would have been different if Speed were still alive. All of a sudden, it was as though she lost all touch with reality and went deeper into the memories of her and Speed.

_As she walked out of the Miami crime lab elevator, the first thing she saw was Speed hugging another woman. She immediately took this the wrong way and as Speed and the mystery woman broke apart, she walked up to them._

"_Calleigh," Speed said as he noticed her coming towards them, "I'd like to introduce you to…," but before he could explain, Calleigh slapped him._

"_How could you do this to me, you son of a bitch?" Calleigh yelled through the tears, "How could you sleep with another woman?"_

_By this time, everyone was staring at them. "Calleigh, listen," Speed laughed uncomfortably, as he looked around._

"_No, you listen. Stay away from me." And with that said, Calleigh stormed off._

"_Calleigh, wait," Speed shouted after her._

_Just as Speed was about to run after her, his friend, who's name was Eva, said, "Tim, let her go. She needs time to cool off." _

_Speed took this into consideration for only a second before he said, "Eva, she's my girlfriend and I love her. I have to make things right."_

_Calleigh had been sitting in the locker room for about an hour, crying her eyes out, when Speed walked in. Calleigh glanced up and glared at him, with a murderous glint in her eyes. With the tears still fresh, that glint looked even more deadly. "What do you want?" she asked coldly. _

"_I want to explain," Speed said. Speed went to put his arm around Calleigh, but she roughly shoved it away._

"_You don't have to explain. I know what I saw," she said angrily._

_This was the first time since Speed had sat down beside her, that he got a clear look at her face. Her face was tear-stained and very red. He hated seeing her like this. "Calleigh," Speed said a minute later, "what you saw was me hugging another woman. I'm not sleeping with her."_

"_Then who is she?" she asked through her sniffles._

"_She's an old friend from college. She's visiting from Chicago."_

"_Oh," she said as her face turned an even darker shade of red. "Then I apologize." _

They had laughed about it later. Deep down, she knew Speed would never do anything to hurt her, but she had acted on an impulse. It was through these times...through these memories that she missed Speed the most.

"Calleigh, did you hear what I said?" Eric asked, bringing her out of her reverie. Eric was staring at her, holding the camera.

Calleigh just stood there for a minute looking at Eric, as though she didn't know who he was or what he was doing there. "What?"

"I said that I found a muddy footprint."

Calleigh immediately came over to where Eric was standing. The footprint looked to be about a man's size 11. As Calleigh bent down to get a closer look, she noticed that the footprint was set deeper into the mud than her own and Eric's. She pointed this out to Eric, who was taking a mold. "This could possibly be a secondary crime scene. The perpetrator possibly carried the victim here," Calleigh said, as she looked around. "That could explain the absence of blood." However, they would investigate this aspect of the case more thoroughly.

Eric placed the casted footprint into a manila evidence bag. They would run it through the database once they got back to the lab. They took one last look around to see if they had missed anything. It was just then that Calleigh noticed a piece of metal looking up at her from the mud. She picked it up and immediately knew that it was a shell casing from a 9mm.

"I'll take a closer look at it back at the lab," she told Eric, as she bagged it as evidence.

Eric and Calleigh then walked to the car and climbed in. They rode back to the lab in a very uncomfortable silence.

The whole car ride, Eric had wanted to say something. He had wanted to know why Calleigh had come back to work so soon after Speed's funeral, but he didn't feel as though it was his place to criticize her. She was doing her best to cope. By this time, they had reached the Miami crime lab.

The Miami crime lab was a 5 story building in downtown Miami Dade County. They climbed out of the hummer and headed up to the third floor. They walked out of the elevator and went their separate ways. Calleigh to Ballistics and Eric to the Morgue.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

Summary: Spoilers for 'Lost Son'. Calleigh has memories of the time she spent with Speed.

Pairings: Calleigh and Speed.

----

"…gunshot wound to the left chest area. There's stippling surrounding the wound, which indicates he was shot at close range." Alexx was just clicking the tape recorder off as Eric entered. He quickly pulled on a lab coat and walked up to the autopsy table. He was about to ask Alexx what her findings were, when he noticed that she had gone a very pale white. She took a step back and started to fall to the ground, in a faint. Eric quickly dashed to the other side of the table and grabbed her. Luckily, he had been close enough that he was able to grab her before she hit her head. He led her over to a chair and gently placed his hands on her shoulders, as she sat down. Fortunately, the colour was returning to her face.

"What happened?" Eric asked, concern showing on his face.

It took her a little while to answer, but when she did, all she was able to stammer was, "Tim."

It was only then that Eric noticed that Dante Walker had died the same as Speed had. Eric turned his head back to Alexx as she started to say something.

"I saw Tim." She saw Eric's face and mistook his look of bewilderment for a look of confusion. "Instead of Dante Walker on that table, I saw Timmy."

Eric nodded his head to show that he understood. "Alexx, I think you should go home," Eric told her.

Alexx shook her head and all she said was, "No."

Eric left it at that. He knew that once she had made up her mind, it was damn near impossible to get her to change it.

Alexx got up and slowly made her way back to the table, with Eric close behind her. "I found something you might be interested in," Alexx told the young CSI, as though nothing had happened just minutes before, "He had a stomach ulcer, which in turn, caused him to hemorrhage."

"So, he would have died anyway," Eric said.

"Maybe so, but the poor baby didn't deserve to be murdered," replied Alexx.

Eric left the lab a minute later loaded with plenty of evidence, which included the bullet, a sticky substance from the victim's hair, skin from under his fingernails, and a strand of hair, which had also been stuck under his fingernails.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

Summary: Spoilers for 'Lost Son'. Calleigh has memories of the time she spent with Speed.

Pairings: Calleigh and Speed.

----

Meanwhile, in Ballistics, Calleigh was testing the shell casing she had found at the scene. Under normal circumstances she wouldn't have had to even test it, but her mind was so out of it lately that she just wanted to make sure. She put on the eye goggles and the ear muffs. Then she picked up the gun and fired.

_She had to tell him. She had to tell him what was bothering her. Calleigh knew that Speed could tell something was wrong. She hated not telling him, but she knew that if she did, he would worry about her and she didn't want that. However, Calleigh made the decision to tell him the next morning._

_The next morning, Calleigh woke up to the sound of running water. She turned over in bed and tried desperately not to open her eyes. This was an adamant task, what with the sun streaming through the window and the crash of the Atlantic Ocean against the beach. She got up and shut the window, which Speed must have opened when he got up. She then turned around at the sound of the door slowly creaking open._

_Speed stood in the doorway, with a towel wrapped around his waist. "Good, you're awake,"Speed said, as he reached for a pair of pants and pulled them on._

"_Uh, yeah," Calleigh said, evading his eyes. All of a sudden, Calleigh felt a dizzy sensation overcome her. She tried to grab the closest thing to her, but all her hands grasped was air and she fell, hitting her head on the side of the bed._

_Speed quickly rushed to her side, picked her up, and gently placed her on the bed. He mellowly started slapping her face and when she didn't wake up, he hurried to the bathroom. He grabbed a cloth and put it under warm water. He rinsed the cloth out, so it would only be damp and rushed back to Calleigh. He placed the damp cloth on her forehead. At first, nothing seemed to be happening, but then her eyes started to flicker, and finally, they opened. She tried to get up, but quickly fell back down, as her vision was still a bit hazy._

_Calleigh hadn't wanted him to find out this way. She had wanted to tell him over breakfast or before they left for work._

_He was very meticulous, so Calleigh was actually surprised that he didn't know what was specifically bothering her._

_Once again, she got up, but this time with the help of Speed. He looked into her deep brown eyes and asked, "Do you want to tell me what happened?" _

_Of course she didn't, but she had no other choice. After all, he was a CSI, so he would eventually figure it out. Finally, she nodded in acquiescence. "I have a tumor," Calleigh blurted out. She knew that Speed would react, but she didn't know how badly._

_He fell back onto the bed with a soft thump._

_Calleigh had never seen Speed cry before, after all, he had a tough outer appearance, but when Calleigh told him, he just broke down._

Just the though of that day brought tears to her eyes. She took her ear muffs and eye goggles off to find Eric standing behind her. She didn't want him to see her crying, so she quickly wiped away the tears. Calleigh knew that Eric wouldn't judge her for crying at work, after all, Eric and Speed had been really tight.

Eric took a step toward her and put his arms around her in a tight embrace.

Calleigh couldn't hold it anymore and she burst out crying.

"Calleigh, it's okay," Eric soothed her.

Calleigh lifted her head from his shoulders and looked at him. "No, it's not," Calleigh told Eric, sharply, "It's never going to be okay."

"Sure it will. Just give it time." Eric knew that Calleigh wasn't going to get over the loss of Speed anytime soon, but he wanted to do everything he could to make her feel a little better. By this time, Calleigh was only sniffling, so Eric couldn't help but think that his words had helped a little.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

Summary: Spoilers for 'Lost Son'. Calleigh has memories of the time she spent with Speed.

Pairings: Calleigh and Speed.

----

Horatio had been deeply affected by Tim Speedle's death and he couldn't deny that re-investigating had hit a sore spot, so that was why he wasn't going to ask for Calleigh's help. He was going to ask for Eric's.

Eric had been a lot like Speed in many ways. For one, he didn't show his emotions very easily. However, he was in fact better at showing them than Speed had been. Horatio knew that by asking Eric, he'd be able to get his job done without his emotions clouding his judgment. The only problem was, Eric was nowhere to be found.

He had peeked in on Valera, only to find her hunched over a microscope, but still no Eric. Next, he contemplated whether to bother Alexx in the Morgue. He finally decided that he would observe through the viewing area, one story above. At the moment, Alexx was performing an autopsy with a CSI from night shift, who, like himself, was probably working overtime. He waited another ten minutes before he pressed the intercom. "Alexx, have you seen Eric?" Horatio asked the Medical Examiner.

"He was here about an hour ago," Alexx said, as she bustled around the Morgue, preparing for her next victim, "but I don't know where he is now."

Horatio thanked her and continued his search for Eric. His last stop was the Ballistics lab. When Horatio walked in, he saw Eric hugging Calleigh, no doubt comforting her. The two broke apart as Horatio said, "You're a hard man to find Eric."

"Sorry, H,"" Eric said as he looked down at the ground and scratched his temple with his right index finger. "What do you need?"

"I need a favour regarding Speed," Horatio said, with an uneasy tone in his voice.

At the mention of Speed's name, Calleigh became flustered. She mumbled about having to do something and quickly ran out of the room.

Horatio didn't want to ask Eric what he was about to ask him. He didn't think it was a good idea to let Calleigh work on a case by herself. He knew that Eric would be able to comfort her and stop her from making any irrational decisions. He also knew that Eric was the best man to accompany him on this case. He had nothing against Ryan, but he was too new. He decided that he would assign Ryan to work with Calleigh, just until Eric was free.

Horatio could tell by the look on Eric's face that he knew what Horatio was going to ask and he didn't like it. "I need you to go back to Mcauley Jewelers," Horatio told Eric. Horatio had a very strong suspicion that the first thought that came into Eric's head would be of Calleigh and he was right.

"What about Calleigh?" Eric asked his boss.

"I'm going to ask Ryan to work with her, until you're able to work with her again," Horatio said.

Eric was about to argue this, after all, he did have very good reason to, but he quickly stopped himself. "Okay," Eric said, hesitantly, "but just until I come back." With those words said, the two CSIs left the lab.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

Summary: Spoilers for 'Lost Son'. Calleigh has memories of the time she spent with Speed.

Pairings: Calleigh and Speed.

----

After she had left the Ballistics lab, Calleigh had gone to the locker room. This was probably the one place in the whole lab that reminded her the most of Speed, but she didn't care. She just wanted to be close to him. She looked at Speed's locker, which was now Ryan's. It still had his name on it. This made a coat of tears run down, her already red, cheeks. She was tired of this. She was tired of crying every time she thought of her dead boyfriend. Although she wanted to stop thinking about him, she couldn't. She had loved him with all of her heart.

She vividly remembered the day Speed died. It was a memory etched so deeply into her mind that it was impossible to erase. She had tried to be strong through his funeral, but she hadn't realized how hard it had been. She had let a few tears roll down her cheeks, but she hadn't cried for her boyfriend, she had cried for her co-worker. As it was against policy to date a co-worker, she had decided to cry for him as just that, but as soon as she had gotten home, she cried her eyes out.

She looked away from Speed's locker as she heard someone enter the locker room. It was Ryan Wolfe. He had only been on the job two weeks and already Calleigh disliked him. She felt as though Ryan was trying to push his way in and the memory of Speed out.

He timidly walked up to her and sat down. They sat that way for the next few minutes until Calleigh asked, "Is there something you need?"

He hesitated for a minute, but then he was able to find his voice. "Horatio assigned me to work with you on your case."

Calleigh was appalled for a minute, but then she understood. _That must have been what Horatio and Eric were talking about earlier_ she thought to herself. "Okay," she said, as she wiped the remaining tears away and headed for the door. "I'll fill you in on the way to Trace."

Calleigh put her feelings for Ryan at the back of her mind, after all, they'd be working together and it wouldn't be very easy to do that if she hated him. Maybe this would be a good opportunity to get to know Ryan. Horatio obviously trusted him enough to work with her and she trusted Horatio, so she though getting to know Ryan was worth a shot.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

Summary: Spoilers for 'Lost Son'. Calleigh has memories of the time she spent with Speed.

Pairings: Calleigh and Speed.

----

As Horatio Caine and Eric Delko walked into McCauley Jewelers-what felt like the hundredth time to Horatio- they received an exasperated look from the manager, who had just been talking to some customers on the other side of the room.

The manager started walking very angrily up to Horatio and Eric and by the time he was halfway across the room, he was practically sprinting. "What is it you want now, Lieutenant?" Enrique Anderson yelled.

Horatio held up a sheaf of papers. "We have a warrant to search these premises." Horatio had gotten a judge, who owed him a favour, to issue the warrant.

Enrique Anderson stood shocked, but it only lasted a minute. He grabbed the papers out of Horatio's hand and looked them over…twice. "I…I don't believe this," Anderson sputtered. "First you come in here and accuse me of murder and then you get a warrant." By this time, Anderson had gotten his voice back.

"It's only procedure Mr. Anderson," Horatio said.

"Procedure my ass. Well, you have your warrant. I can't do anything to stop you," Anderson said angrily.

Eric had started looking around as soon as Horatio had given Enrique Anderson the warrant. Eric was inspecting the glass cases that held the priceless gems, now and Horatio thought him quite capable of doing that himself, so he headed over to the desk clerk to ask her a few questions. Luckily, it was the same young woman from the other day.

"Lieutenant," she said with a smile, "it's nice to see you again. You kind of ran out of here in a hurry the other day."

Horatio replied to her statement with a smile and he asked, "How long have you worked here for?"

"About a year. I was working here when Mr. McCauley still owned the place," Jenna Amos, the desk clerk, said.

"So then, you'd be working here when Mr. Anderson became manager, right?"

"Yes."

"Then how long has Mr. Anderson been here exactly?"

Jenna thought about it for a minute, then she said, "Come to think of it, he started working here about a week before your CSI was killed, Lieutenant."

"Okay. One last thing. Did he ever act suspicious?" Horatio asked.

"Not really. He was mostly shut up in his office, except when he was talking to customers. There was one time, though, I was walking by his office, which was open a crack and I heard him shout 'Juan, she has to die. You have to kill her.' He said something else after that, but I couldn't hear it," Jenna told the eager Horatio.

"Thanks Jenna. You've been a big help."

By the time Horatio could join Eric, he had made his way to Mr. Anderson's office. Eric was rummaging through the papers on Anderson's desk, when Horatio asked, "What have you got, Eric?"

"I found some dried blood. It might not even be related to Speed's shooting, but I swabbed it anyway."

Horatio then pulled on a pair of latex gloves and helped Eric by going through the drawers. Horatio had scarcely started his search, when Eric said, "H, I've got something."

Horatio was at Eric's side in an instant. Horatio then saw what Eric had found. It was a yellow post-it note that said _Call Juan_, with the phone number _555-6275_, below it. "Bag it," Horatio told Eric. Eric obliged and then he and Horatio went back to their search. It took another twenty minutes to complete the search of the office and they found nothing else of any interest.

After the two CSI's emerged from the office, Eric held up the evidence bag with the post-it note and asked, "Who's Juan?"

Without answering the question, Anderson asked, "Are you finished?"

"For now," Horatio said. Then the two men left the jewelry store and headed back to the lab to get their new evidence analyzed.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

Summary: Spoilers for 'Lost Son'. Calleigh has memories of the time she spent with Speed.

Pairings: Calleigh and Speed

----

Calleigh and Ryan were busy processing the evidence collected from Dante Walker, when Eric walked in. Eric figured that Calleigh would be in Trace, but he didn't expect Calleigh to be getting along with Ryan. When Horatio had told him that he was having Ryan work with Calleigh, he knew it was a bad idea. Not just because Speed had died, but because he knew how much she disliked Ryan. That was beside the point, however. He had come to see how she was doing and to drop off the blood evidence he had collected at the jewelery store. "Calleigh," Eric said, as he joined her by the computer, "how are you doing?"

"I'm fine," she said with a smile on her face.

That was the first time he had seen her smile like that since Speed had died. After watching Calleigh work for another minute, Eric was sure Calleigh would be fine working with Ryan and he left Trace to go find Horatio.

It was true, Calleigh was doing a lot better now and it was actually because of Ryan. She hadn't realized until they started working together, how much she had underestimated Ryan. He was only doing his job, he wasn't trying to push Speed away and she understood that now.

"Calleigh," Ryan said, a few seconds later.

She broke eye contact with the computer to hear what he had to say, but she didn't hear a word.

_Calleigh was scared. Today was the day she was going in for surgery to remove the tumor. She stayed in bed for as long as she could, hoping that this was just a dream and that when she woke up, it would just all go away, but she knew better then that. It was better reality. She was going in for surgery and she was scared as hell. The part that scared her the most, though, was she might never see Speed again. These could be her last few hours with him, but she was determined to beat this._

"_Cal, baby," Speed said, a few minutes later, "it's time."_

_Calleigh hesitantly got up and got dressed in blue sweat pants, a white tank top, and a blue sweater that matched the pants. She then joined Speed in the kitchen for breakfast, which consisted of toast, bacon, eggs, and a glass of orange juice. She hardly ate her breakfast and what she did eat, she hardly tasted._

"_Calleigh, you have to eat," Speed persisted._

_Instead of turning back to her plate, she got up from the table and went to Speed, hugging him when she got there. They hugged for at least five minutes and when they broke apart, Speed saw the tears running down Calleigh's pale cheeks. He wiped the tears away with his thumb and said, "It's going to be okay. I promise."_

_It was then that Calleigh knew everything was going to be okay. He always kept his promises._

_Speed sat in the waiting room. Calleigh had gone in for surgery three hours ago. It was torture to wait this long. He just wanted to know that she was going to be okay. _

_Just then, a doctor walked up to Speed and asked, "Are you Mr. Speedle?"_

_Speed quickly got up and said, "Yes. Is Calleigh okay?"_

"_She's fine. She pulled through with flying colours. You can go see her now. Room 204," the doctor said._

_However, he had had to shout the last few words to Speed, who rushed off before the doctor was able to finish._

_By the time Calleigh woke up, Speed was sitting by the bed. Calleigh opened her mouth to say something, but Speed put his finger on her lips. He leaned in closer and put his mouth on hers. He never wanted that kiss to end. During their kiss, Speed brushed his hand through her long hair, but she pulled away._

"_Cal, what's wrong?" asked Speed._

"_Nothing," she said, smiling her irresistible smile. "I just want to look into your eyes."_

"…Jack Hunter," finished Ryan. Calleigh gave Ryan the same glazed expression she had given Eric a few hours before and upon seeing this look, Ryan asked, "You didn't hear a word I said, did you?"

Calleigh didn't want Ryan to know that she had, one again, been thinking about Speed. _Well at least this time I didn't cry_, Calleigh said to herself. "I did too," Calleigh told the other CSI. Ryan had been patient with her, as he probably knew by now that her and Speed had been a couple, but when she saw Ryan raise his eyebrow and give her a suspicious look, she knew he didn't believe her. "Okay. I didn't hear all of it, but I did hear some. The hair we found under the vic's nail, belongs to one Jack Hunter." The only reason Calleigh knew this, however, was because she knew Ryan had been looking at the hair. Luckily, it had pulled out at the root, so they were able to get some DNA. Ryan had run the DNA through CODIS, Combined DNA Index System, which had led them to Jack Hunter. "There's also a place of business here," Ryan continued, as he looked back at the computer. "Um, a Jackson Enterprises." Ryan looked up at Calleigh, who was smiling. "That's where our vic worked." Now it was Calleigh's turn to inform Ryan of her findings.

Calleigh had been looking at the sap that had been found in the victim's hair. She had known that it was tree sap, as she had found the tiniest piece of bark in the sample, but she didn't know what kind of tree it belonged to, so she had run some tests and the results said that it was from a Cycad.

After being told this information, Ryan looked as happy as Calleigh felt. They both knew that a Cycad was rare in Miami, so if they found the tree, they would no doubt find their killer.

"If you thought that was good news," Calleigh said to Ryan, after telling him about the tree, "There's more. I tested the bullet and it is in fact a 9 mil and it came from a Glock. I also ran the shoeprint that we found at the crime scene, through our shoe database, and it is in fact a man's size 11, just as Eric and I suspected. It also indicated that this brand of shoe isn't mad anymore. Although it didn't give the exact brand, it gave a number of possible matches. I printed them out," Calleigh said, as she gave Ryan the list. "All we need now, is a print to match it to."

Ryan didn't think his day could get any better, but it did. He hadn't been this happy in months, but being around Calleigh made happiness possible. Ryan knew when he found out about Calleigh and Speed that she wouldn't take too kindly to him and seeing her face when he first told her that he was to work with her, he knew he was right. He was just glad that Calleigh was warming up to him some. There was still quite a bit of tension between them, but it was a start. Calleigh just needed time. He knew how it must look; him coming and immediately taking Speed's place.

He understood how she felt, although it might not seem like it. When his fiancée, Natalie, died, it took every part of him from lashing out at the world. He withdrew completely and there was nothing anyone could do or say to make him feel better. It took him two years to accept that Natalie was gone and to get on with his life. He knew it was different with Calleigh, though. He saw the way Calleigh and Eric looked at each other and they way Eric treated her. With him around, Ryan knew Calleigh would be fine.

"I think," Calleigh said, interrupting Ryan's thoughts, "it's time to see where these two men work."

Ryan agreed.


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Summary: Spoilers for 'Lost Son'. Calleigh has memories of the time she spent with Speed.

Pairings: Calleigh and Speed

----

The note that Eric had found was a good lead, but they still had no idea who Juan was and Enrique Anderson was not being very cooperative.

Horatio and Eric were now standing in the A/V lab with A/V tech, Tyler Jensen. Horatio had told Eric earlier that the best why to find out who Juan is, would be to call the number and Eric agreed. They were in the A/V lab because they were hoping to keep Juan on the line long enough to trace the call.

Horatio pulled his cell phone from his pocket, dialed the number, and put it to his ear. He patiently waited for the ringing to end and a voice to answer.

"Yeah," a voice said in Spanish, but before Horatio could answer, the voice continued. "Look Enrique, I held up my end of the bargain, now it's time for you to do the same."

"Juan," replied Horatio in Spanish, just as he got the signal from Tyler that they had a location, "you made a big mistake killing my CSI. Now you're gonna pay for it." Then the line went dead.

Tyler had written the address down and, after Horatio put his cell away, Tyler handed the address to Horatio, who handed it to Eric.

Eric gave Horatio a quizzical look, as though he had expected Horatio to follow up on this lead, but all Horatio said was: "Why don't you run with it?"

Eric gave a quick nod, said, "You got it H," and left, with Horatio close behind. Only Horatio was going back to question Enrique Anderson.

----

Eric pulled the Hummer up to Juan's residence. He quickly climbed out; eager to find out if this lead was worthwhile. He left his crime scene kit in the passenger's side, as he had no reason to search the place yet, and he headed up the boardwalk. He was about to ring the doorbell, when he heard a loud voice coming from within.

"I killed that damn cop, for what? For nothing. That damn Lieutenant is on to me. They're really gonna make me pay. I mean, the fuckin' Spanish cop was his friend and that bitch ex-girlfriend of yours was in love with him…"

Before Eric could hear any more, he was hit from behind and blacked out.

----

When Eric woke up, he had a throbbing headache. He opened his eyes to get a better indication of where he might be, but when the blinding sun hit his face, he quickly closed them.

He tried to lift his hands to his temples to relieve the pain of his headache, but he discovered that they were tied securely behind his back. He opened his eyes, despite the pain, and looked at his feet, which were tied as well. Eric then heard the soft lapping of water against…a boat?" _Most likely_ he thought.

He was trying to figure out where he could be when he heard the sound of approaching footsteps and he was pushed unceremoniously to his feet. With his feet tied, standing was adamant. He was now looking into the eyes of, none other than, Enrique Anderson.

"You got too close, Mr. Delko. I wish there was another way, but throwing you into the Everglades is the only way. Maybe the gators will dispose of you." With that, Enrique Anderson, with the help of another man, picked Eric up and threw him overboard.

Eric hit the water with a hard slap. He could feel the cold, murky water of the Everglades cover his face and it was though he was being dragged to the bottom of the Earth. He tried to struggle free, but it was useless-his bonds were ties too securely. He was used to these waters, but not like this-not without his scuba gear. He knew that he had a bigger lung capacity, due to his diving expertise, so he would be able to survive in these conditions longer than most people, but still, not for long. It was then that he thought of Calleigh and how much she needed him. He couldn't die like this, so he started to try, once again, getting free of his prison.


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

Summary: Spoilers for 'Lost Son'. Calleigh has memories of the time she spent with Speed.

Pairings: Calleigh and Speed

A/NSorry it took so long to update, but I've been really busy, what with getting ready for college and everything.

Okay, there are a few things I want to get straight. Near the end of the chapter, I have Ryan going to the police station, instead of to the hospital with Calleigh. He just has to take their suspect to get interrogated, but he'll be with Calleigh when she wakes up. I think that's everything. I hope everyone enjoys the chapter and PLEASE REVIEW. I just love reading them. Ciao.

----

Horatio had dropped by McCauley Jewelers, once again-hopefully for the last time-and he had even tracked down Anderson's home address, but still there was no sign of the man, so he called into headquarters and asked for two patrol cars to be dispatched-one to McCauley Jewelers and the other to Anderson's home. With the hope that he'd soon have Anderson in an interrogation room, Horatio headed back to the lab to check if Valera had the results from the blood Eric had given her earlier. He mad the trip from Anderson's to the lab-which was about a ten minute drive-in six minutes. Horatio got out of the Hummer and hurried into the Miami-Dade crime lab

Five minutes later, he was walking into Trace. "What have you got on the blood Valera?" Horatio asked the lab tech, Maxine Valera.

Valera looked up from the microscope and asked, "The blood Eric brought in?"

Horatio nodded.

Valera handed him a piece of paper and said, "As you can see, the blood was too degraded to get a positive match. Look, Horatio, I know how much this case means to you-what it means to all of us-so I ran the sample numerous times, but each time, the result was the same; NO MATCH. I'm sorry," Valera finished sympathetically.

"So am I." Horatio set the report down and said, "Thanks Valera." Horatio left Trace.

----

Calleigh and Ryan stepped out of the Hummer and got their first good look at Jackson Enterprises. It was a small business complex about 20 minutes east of the crime lab. The building was starting to get run down; however, it was still in working order. Palm trees dotted the premises and however run down the complex may be, the vegetation was well groomed.

The two CSI's walked up the cracked sidewalk and opened the glass doors that would allow them entrance to the small business.

The lobby was small and crammed with two chairs and a small table, covered with magazines.

Unlike outside, there were few signs of plant life, what with one small palm tree on either side of the door.

Ryan looked around the lobby until his eyes landed on the young desk clerk, who, at the moment, was leaning backing her chair reading a paperback book.

As Ryan looked closer, he noticed the uncanny similarities between this young woman and his fiancée. Ryan tried hard not to, but he couldn't help it, and his concentration slipped away from the case, just as Calleigh's had so many times before.

"_Ryan," Natalie Sanchez said into her cell phone, as she walked out of their apartment. "I just got called into work. I don't know when I'll be back, but I'll see you soon. I love you." She hesitated for a moment, but then she hung up the phone._

_As she walked to her car, she pulled her long, black hair into a loose ponytail._

_Natalie was a very beautiful Hispanic woman with long, black hair that touched her waist. Her olive green eyes lit up every time she saw her fiancé, Ryan Wolfe, and, quite frankly, she didn't know what she would do without him. She loved being with Ryan, but she had to admit, their relationship wasn't easy, what with him being a cop. She was constantly worried whether or not he would come home and she thanked the stars each night when he did._

_Ten minutes later, Natalie pulled her red convertible up to Gordon's Gold, the jewelry store at which she worked. She quickly got out of her car and rushed into the store._

_Gordon's Gold was the most expensive jewelry store this side of Miami. It was home to hundreds of the worlds most expensive jewels; however, they were sympathetic to those who couldn't afford as much. Those gems, though, were still quite pricey._

_As Natalie stepped behind the jewel enclosed cases, she glanced over the store to make sure everything was in order. Here eyes immediately landed on a man sitting on a couch on the far right side of the room. The couch, along with the magazines piled on an oak table, were there to make any waiting customers comfortable while they waited for service._

_She stepped across the nicely polished hard-wood floor to where the man, who was a regular, was patiently waiting. "Mr. Rennolds," Natalie started, "how may I help you today."_

_Mr. Rennolds glanced up from the magazine he was reading and met Natalie's eyes. He, like herself, was Hispanic. His chocolate-brown eyes sparkled with mischief and friendliness. Trapped deep inside his eyes, she also glimpsed a hint of adventure that she knew had once been there. He had dark hair and his image was mad complete with his usual beard and mustache._

"_Natalie, how many times have I told you to call me Jesse. Mr. Rennolds makes me feel old," Rennolds said, who was just entering his 44**th** year._

_Natalie let out a small laugh._

"_Jesse," a voice said, coming out of the back room. The voice belonged to that of her friend and co-worker, Andy Bishop. "It appears as though we don't have the diamond you requested in stock, but we can call you when it comes in."_

_Jesse Rennolds placed the magazine on the table with the rest, stood up, and said, "Thank you. I'll be looking forward to your call Andy. Bye Natalie."_

_Once Jesse Rennolds had left the store, Andy turned to Natalie, and gave a sigh of relief. "Thanks for coming in Natalie. Billy called in sick and it was busier than I had expected."_

_Natalie smiled and said, "No problem. Ryan's at work, so I was really bored anyway._

_Natalie and Andy had just gotten behind the counter when the door opened and two men entered._

_The first was a black man of medium-build. He had the beginnings of a mustache and beard encompassing his mouth and jaw, his eyes had a shifty atmosphere to them, and his nose almost was almost pug-like._

_The second man was the complete opposite. He was a tall, white man, but unlike the first man, he had a friendly quality that engulfed him._

"_How may I help you two gentlemen today," Natalie inquired in a friendly manner._

_Instead of answering, both men reached in their pockets and pulled out handguns._

_The black man came to where Natalie was standing and ordered her to get on the ground, while the other man was doing the same to Andy._

_She quickly obeyed his orders and as the tears started falling, all she could do was pray that they would leave._

_Natalie could hear the sound of glass breaking and knew that they were going to do away with millions of dollars of jewelry, but at this point she didn't care; she just wanted them to leave._

_All of a sudden, she just wanted to be at home in the warmth of Ryan's arms. She wanted to kiss his lips and look in to his deep, passionate eyes. Unfortunately, she had to get through this nightmare first._

_It lasted another 5 minutes before she heard the sound of the door open. 'Thank God' she prayed._

_She quickly glanced over at Andy, who seemed to be okay. Then she slowly got up and peeked over the counter, which she realized at the last minute, was a mistake. One of the men had come back and was looking squarely into her eyes._

_Her eyes were drawn to the gun, positioned in his right hand. She saw his finger tighten around the trigger. Instinct told her to get back behind the counter, but before she could, the man had raised the gun and pulled the trigger. The next few seconds seemed to pass by in slow motion. She slowly put her right hand to her abdomen and when she released it from the entry wound, all she could see was the dark stain of blood covering her hand. When Natalie could finally grasp the concept that she had been shot, she fell to the ground and landed in a small pool of blood that was beginning to form at her feet._

_Andy looked on in consternation as he saw his co-worker-the woman he saw everyday-fall to the ground in a pool of her own blood. He quickly looked around to make sure the man, who had shot her, had vacated the store and when he was sure the coast was clear, he rushed to Natalie's side. He looked into her eyes and saw a mix of emotions-fear and consternation, above all._

"_Ryan," Natalie sputtered. Unfortunately, her speech was cut short by the sudden appearance of blood bubbling from out of her mouth._

_In the distance, Natalie heard, or thought she heard, the sound of sirens. Had someone called 911? Maybe she would get to see Ryan one last time._

_She tried to fight her injury, but she knew it was a lost cause._

_She slowly turned her head and looked into Andy's kind, generous face. She tried, once more, to speak, and this time, she didn't let the blood stop her. "Tell Ryan…that I love…him." Saying those words took any fight she might have still had left._

"_It's going to be okay, Natalie," Andy encouraged her, as he took her blood-soaked hand in his, but he knew it was too late; there was nothing he could do. He noticed the tears silently roll down Natalie's cheeks and then, in one swift movement, she closed her eyes. He half expected her eyes to open one last time, but when the rise and fall of her chest had ceased, he knew it was not going to happen. As he let go of Natalie's hand, he heard the sound of a door slam; the paramedics. He felt a surge of anger course its way through his body. Too late; they had come too late. He looked at Natalie's lifeless body and when the tears came, they wracked his body uncontrollably._

_----_

_Ryan Wolfe stepped out of his patrol car and shut the door. When Ryan had heard the call that there had been sounds of shots fired at Natalie's jewelry store, he had wanted to panic, but his cop instincts had told him to remain calm._

_Ryan placidly walked into Gordon's Gold, but when he saw the floor and Natalie's co-worker covered in blood, he knew the worst had happened. "Andy," Ryan said, heading over to where Andy Bishop stood with another officer, giving his statement. "Where's Natalie?" By this time, Ryan was anything but calm. "Andy," Ryan said again, "where's Natalie?"_

_Andy had hesitated the first time because he knew that only heartbreak awaited Ryan, but he realized he had no other choice. Andy slowly tilted his head toward the counter, as a tear rolled down his cheek._

_Ryan quickly moved around the counter, knowing he would not like what he found. When he saw the lifeless body of his fiancée, he grabbed his head in his hands. His training was thrown out the window and he ran to her, not caring how much evidence was contaminated in the process. "Natty," he cried, as he took her hand in his. It wasn't until then, that the tears, which had been delayed upon his arrival, started flowing freely from his deep, brown eyes._

"Ryan, are you okay?" Calleigh asked Ryan, who was staring at the desk clerk with a confused look on his face.

"What?" Ryan asked, as he turned to Calleigh with the same confusion etched into his face.

"I asked if you were okay."

"Yeah. I'm fine." Ryan shook his head to get his concentration back.

Calleigh nodded her head to show she understood. She knew something was wrong, but she didn't want to push it, so on the way back to the lab, she would talk to him and hope that he would open up to her. Calleigh hesitated for a moment, but when she saw Ryan walk up to the desk clerk, she knew he was ready to continue, so she followed suit.

"Hi," Ryan said. "I'm Ryan Wolfe, this is Calleigh Duquesne and we're with the crime lab. We need to speak with Mr. Jackson. Is he in?"

When she didn't respond to Ryan's question, he repeated it in Spanish.

Calleigh had no idea that Ryan was capable of speaking Spanish. She saw him everyday and not once did he show signs of being able to speak the language.

When Ryan and the clerk had finished their conversation, he turned to Calleigh and said, "She says Mr. Jackson is in suite 180." Ryan knew Calleigh was able to speak fluent Spanish, but he knew how upset she had been lately, so he just wanted to make sure she got every word and he didn't even know if she had been paying attention.

Calleigh was still in awe, although she didn't show it, as she followed Ryan down the corridor. "Where did you learn to speak Spanish?" Calleigh asked him.

The smile that had been plastered on Ryan's face faltered and he looked away from Calleigh. "It doesn't matter."

By this time, they had reached Mr. Jackson's office. Ryan knocked on the door.

"Come in," said a gruff voice.

Ryan pushed open the door.

Mr. Jackson, who was a dark haired man with fair skin, looked up from a pile of paper work. "Ah, you must be from the crime lab. Adriana buzzed me and said you were coming. Dimitri Jackson," the executive said, as he got up from his chair, and extended his hand to the two CSI's.

After introductions had been made, Calleigh said, "Mr. Jackson, are you aware that Dante Walker was found dead this morning?"

The smile on Jackson's face quickly faded. "No…No I wasn't. What happened?"

"He was shot, Mr. Jackson," Calleigh informed the business man.

"Oh God," he said, as he stumbled back. He reached for his chair and began to sit down. Luckily, his chair was close enough that he was able to accomplish this task with little trouble.

Ryan and Calleigh looked at each other.

Over the years, they-even Ryan as a cop-had seen suspects act like this. Of course, it didn't mean that Dimitri Jackson was guilty. On the other hand, if he was in fact guilty, they would find the evidence.

"Mr. Jackson," Calleigh continued, "I know how hard this must be for you, but we need to ask you a few questions. Can you tell us what kind of man Mr. Walker was; at work, at home?"

Jackson gave a small laugh. "He was a good employee. He was working on a major business deal that was supposed to go down this afternoon. He proposed that…Never mind," he said, as he saw Ryan's lack of interest.

"What was he like at home?" Calleigh asked.

"This is a place of business Ms. Duquesne. We didn't talk about it much. I made a point to tell all of my employees to leave their personal problems at home; however, I know that Dante and his wife, Kiera, are expecting their first child, so I guess it can't be too bad."

Ryan had expected Calleigh to continue the questioning and when she didn't, he looked into her eyes and noticed they had glazed over, just as they had earlier that day. Ryan was about to ask her what was wrong, when he noticed her hands make contact with her abdomen. It looked as though he wasn't the only one who had something to hide. Ryan quickly glanced at Dimitri Jackson, who was very confused. Ryan motioned for him to wait a few minutes because he knew that Calleigh's concentration was broken, at least for the next few minutes.

"_Calleigh," Speed called out, as he opened the door to their apartment and threw his keys on the counter._

"_Hey," Calleigh said, coming out of their bedroom. She walked up to Speed and out her arms around him in a tight embrace, with Speed doing the same. They broke apart and Speed looked into her eyes._

"_How are you feeling?" Speed asked Calleigh, who had been sick for the past few days._

_When Speed had told her to stay home, she tried to argue with him. She insisted that she was fine enough to go to work, but, of course, Speed had won the argument. Calleigh realized later, that it was probably best, seeing as she constantly felt sick to her stomach._

"_I'm feeling better, but Tim, I have to talk to you. Don't worry, it's nothing bad; at least I hope you don't think so," Calleigh added, seeing the strained look on Speed's face._

_Calleigh led Speed over to the couch and sat down. She placed her hands in his. "Okay. To tell you the truth, I haven't been feeling well for about a week, so today, I went to the doctor's. I just actually got back a few minutes before you came home," Calleigh said, getting a little sidetracked. "Oh, right. So I went to the doctor's and she told me that I'm pregnant." Calleigh looked deeper into Speed's eyes and immediately-although it wasn't hard to see right off the bat-took notice of the shock. "Say something," Calleigh said, uncertainly._

_Speed let a sigh escape from his mouth. He released his hands from hers and placed them on her face. "I love you Calleigh." _

_He leaned forward and placed his lips on hers. When they finally broke apart, Calleigh said, "So, you're okay with this?"_

"_Why wouldn't I be?" Speed asked in return._

"_It's just, I didn't know if you'd want to be a father. We've never really talked about it and even I admit, it came as a bit of a shock."_

_Speed smiled. "Of course I'm okay with it Cal. It's great news."_

_Calleigh too broke into a smile and, once again, they put their arms around each other in a tight embrace._

"Calleigh," Ryan said, brining her back to reality. "Are you okay?" Ryan felt as though that question was getting a little worn.

"Yeah," Calleigh said without hesitation.

Calleigh was about to continue the questioning, when Ryan interjected. "Sorry about that, Mr. Jackson. So, you said before that Dante was involved in a big business deal. Was there anyone who was jealous of him; anyone who wanted that for themselves?"

"No that I know of, but you have to understand that as competitive as we may be with other companies, we get along really well on the inside. I just can't believe that one of my people killed Dante and because of business, no less."

"People get jealous; competitive," Ryan said.

"I am aware of that Mr. Wolfe, but like I said before, not here."

Ryan could see Dimitri Jackson's annoyance starting to show, so he decided to change tactics. "We also understand that a Jack Hunter works here. We need to speak with him," he said.

"He's not in right now, but he'll be back in a few minutes. You can wait if you want."

"While we wait," Calleigh spoke up, before Ryan was able to stop her, "do you mind if we look around his office."

"We may be a small business, but we bring in a lot of income and just you being here is bad for business, so without a warrant, I'm going to have to say no," Jackson told the two CSI's.

"Fine, but if we find any evidence that connects your business with Dante Walker's murder, you can guarantee we'll be back with a warrant, but in the meantime, we'll wait for Jack Hunter in the lobby. Thanks for your time Mr. Jackson," Calleigh said.

Calleigh and Ryan left Dimitri Jackson's office and went to join the desk clerk in the lobby.

When they got there, Calleigh mentally yelled at herself for slipping up they way that she did. No one was supposed to know that she was pregnant. It was going to be hard enough to raise the baby on her own, but if it was revealed right now, then she knew her entire team would comfort and console her.

Ryan gently touched her arm and asked, "Is that Mr. Hunter?"

A tall, blond haired man had just gotten out of a silver sports car and had started up the sidewalk. He had made it to the door and just opened it before he spotted the two CSI's. He quickly let go of the door and bolted.

Calleigh and Ryan followed, but once outside, they split up-Calleigh to the right and Ryan to the left.

Calleigh had enough experience to know that this line of work could be very unpredictable-suspects could do anything when under pressure-so she pulled out her gun and slowed down.

She was about to turn the corner of the building, when she saw a blur of black and felt a sharp pain on her abdomen. She dropped her gun, grabbed her stomach, let out a pain-filled yell, and fell to the ground. Before she could react, the metal pipe made contact with her stomach, one more. She looked up at her attacker, but the tears, that were starting to form, blurred her vision. "Stop," she whimpered. "Please stop."

Instead of meeting her request, her attacker only assaulted her more.

"Calleigh!" Ryan shouted.

Calleigh heard the familiar sound of Ryan's feet running toward her. Calleigh heard the sound of metal hitting the ground and her attacker running off.

"Calleigh!" Ryan shouted again, as he saw her lying on the ground clutching her stomach.

Ryan ran to her and knelt on the ground beside her.

Before Calleigh realized what she was saying, she said, "My baby."

Ryan stalled for a moment and looked at Calleigh in consternation. It wasn't until Calleigh let out a yell that Ryan remembered Calleigh was laying on the ground, suffering from possible internal injuries.

Ryan pulled his cell phone from his pocket and dialed 911. He only had to wait a few seconds before a voice came on the line. "This is CSI Wolfe. I have an officer down. 215 Beachfront Drive. Hurry," Ryan shouted. He slammed his phone shut and shoved it back in his pocket.

Ryan slowly lifted up Calleigh's shirt to see if any injuries were visible.

At the sound of a whimper coming from out of Calleigh's mouth, he stroked her hair and said, "I'm sorry Calleigh."

He looked back at her stomach. She was covered in large circular bruises, and, although no blood was visible, he knew she might be bleeding internally and he knew how dangerous those injuries could be.

Ryan had been so focused on Calleigh that he hadn't heard the sound of the approaching sirens. He looked up as he heard the sound of two pairs of feet approaching.

The two paramedics were very young and that left Ryan wondering if they were capable of properly treating Calleigh.

"Sir," on of the paramedics said, "you have to get back."

Ryan slowly got up, hesitant to leave her.

The same paramedic as before looked up from attending to Calleigh and said, "Sir, are you alright?"

Ryan hadn't realized that he had been crying until the paramedic had asked him that question. "Yeah," Ryan said, not bothering to wipe away his tears.

"Is there anything we need to know about her?" the second paramedic asked.

"She's pregnant," Ryan said.

The two paramedics loaded Calleigh into the ambulance and drove off, with lights flashing and sirens blaring.

Once the ambulance was out of sight, Ryan pulled a pair of latex gloves from his pocket. He put them on and picked up Calleigh's gun in one hand and the metal pipe in the other. He walked back to the Hummer, with the evidence in hand.

It wasn't until he saw Jack Hunter standing by the Hummer, that he remembered that he had handcuffed Hunter to the door handle before Calleigh had screamed out.

Ryan opened the passenger side door and opened his kit. He pulled out two evidence bags and placed both pieces of evidence in the bags. He rummaged around in his kit until he found the Casting Plaster. Ryan went back to where Calleigh had been attacked and poured it into a footprint indentation he had first noticed when he came to Calleigh's aid. Ryan waited a few minutes while it dried and when it did, he carefully lifted it out of the impression in the ground and put it in, yet, another evidence bag.

When he got back to the Hummer, he put the casted footprint into his kit, beside the gun and the pipe. Then, he turned to Jack Hunter and released the handcuffs from the door handle. He opened the back door, shoved him in, and cuffed Hunter to the inside door handle.

Throughout this whole process, Ryan had remained quite, but when he finally spoke, he was furious. "If her baby dies, it'll be on your head, so you'd better hope that Calleigh and her unborn child are okay."

He slammed the door shut, walked around to the drivers' side, and climbed in.

Ryan drove to the police station, praying that Calleigh and her baby would be okay.


End file.
